The inhabitants of the Netherlands’ 38 biggest cities will, on average, pay lower property and other local taxes this year, according to local government research group Coelo.

Tenants will pay an average 1% less and home owners’ bills will be cut by 0.2%, the researchers, who are attached to Groningen University, said. Some 40% of the population live in the biggest towns and cities. The drop is the first since Coelo began registering local tax changes in 2002.

Nevertheless, there are sharp differences between the cities. In Amsterdam, for example, home owners will benefit from a 2.7% drop in charges while in Deventer they will rise 4.5%.

The overall decline is mainly due to a drop in the charges for collecting and processing household waste. Rubbish collection tax now averages €277 a year, down 1.6% on 2016.

Councils are not allowed to make a profit on their rubbish collection fees and increased recycling has brought down costs, spokeswoman Corine Hoeben told the Volkskrant.